Shooting Contest
by Luciferine
Summary: Sixth installment of the Straight on 'Til Morning Series, set somewhere around the same time as Counting Stars. Prompt by Michael7123, who asked for 'Ellie and Joel have a shooting contest.' Cross-posted from Tumblr. NOTE: HTML coding issues have been fixed. The story should read fine, now.


**AN: For Michael7123, who prompted, 'Ellie and Joel have a shooting contest.' Um. I guess I kinda stuck with it? It kinda turned into the entire town having a contest that ends up in EllieandJoel kicking major ass. Also fluff. Because why not. Also Ellie being a cheeky shit. Set, as always, in SOTM 'verse, but if you're not familiar, it's easy enough to read anyways. Just a quick, messy, longer than I meant it to be drabble to get the creative juices flowing. If anyone else wants to prompt, give it a go. Why not?**

Every now and again, there comes a time where there's nothing urgent to take care of in town; no busted turbines, no Infected, no bandits. During these times, it's not unusual for Tommy and Maria to hold some sort of community event to keep everyone entertained. Which, Joel reasons to himself, makes at least some sense. People tend to do stupid shit when they're bored. He's pretty sure this is why his little brother announced this morning there'd be a few contests going on to pass the time today. It's a good idea, really. He'd be a lot happier, though, if he wasn't getting roped into it.

"This is a stupid idea," Joel protests. "I thought you hated these things. Why the hell are you so interested all of a sudden?"

"Come on," Ellie pleads, tugging on his arm. "It might be fun. I'm so bored, Joel. It's not like there's anything else to do." She tugs again. "And I never said I hated them." Joel snorts, amused with her excitement despite himself.

"I think your exact words were more along the lines of 'why do people waste their time with this bullshit' but I think it's pretty much the same thing," he teases. She makes a face at him.

"Very funny. Look who went and found a sense of humor. It's different this time, okay? Tommy's set up a bunch of targets for archery and shooting and we're the best shots around here and wouldn't it be awesome if we could kick everyone's ass?" she rambles in one breath. "Please, Joel?" Her eyes are practically sparkling with excitement and Joel feels his resolve waver.

"Does it really mean that much to you?" he asks wearily, already knowing the answer. She nods her head vigorously, eyes wide. He sighs. "Fine," he mutters. "We'll go. Just for a bit."

"Thank you!" She's laughing and practically vibrating with anticipation. He's glad she's happy, even if he's pretty sure he'll regret his decision. "I knew I could convince you." She grabs her backpack, and he realizes she already packed her bow. Is he really that predictable? He rolls his eyes at her smug expression.

"That's not always gonna work, you know," he informs her, heading out the door of their cabin.

"What isn't?" she asks with an innocence he doesn't buy for a second, following him out.

"You and the beggin' and the big sparkly eyes. Don't think I don't know your tricks, girl," he says, but his tone is more fond than annoyed. Ellie makes a disbelieving sound.

"I'll believe that when it stops working," she shoots back. "You act all big and bad and tough, but admit it. You're a sucker for the 'beggin' and the big sparkly eyes'." She tries to imitate his accent on the last bit and Joel tries and fails to hold in a laugh. He ruffles her hair in the way she always pretends to hate and chuckles as she cusses a very creative blue streak, fussing to get it back in place.

* * *

If Tommy was at all reluctant to have his ex-smuggler brother running around town with loaded weapons in hand, he didn't show it. If anything, he was ecstatic. Joel really hopes this doesn't mean his little brother will try and wrangle him into more of these things.

There's a certain amount of concern among the townspeople, at least at first. Joel doesn't exactly blame them. Him and Ellie haven't been in town for very long at all, and unlike Tommy the rest don't appear to trust implicitly. Everyone's in a good mood, though, and whatever concerns they have seem to evaporate in the midst of the fun. Still, Joel makes sure to keep Ellie close.

Tommy announces that the archery contest is up and Joel waves Ellie off, deciding to sit this one out. He's glad he did about five minutes in, because it means he gets to watch her kick the ass of pretty much every other contestant. A few people seem to actually know what they're doing, but for the most part he's surprised no one accidentally shoots themselves in the foot. Doc is on hand for any emergency injuries, though, so it probably wouldn't be too terrible.

"She's pretty good, isn't she?" one of the other observers asks him as Ellie hits the bullseye for the third time in a row. Joel doesn't even try to hide his grin or the pride in his voice when he says,"Yeah. She is."

The contest finishes fairly quickly, Ellie being the clear winner. Surprisingly enough, the entire crowd bursts into whistles and clapping. Joel likes to think he manages to be the loudest. She shoulders her bow and smiles slightly, embarrassed at the attention. She jogs over to him, grin widening once she's in front of him.

"Did you see me? I was awesome! I mean, for a second there I was pretty sure…" She chatters away, happiness radiating off of her in waves. Joel just laughs, nodding along and making the necessary noises for her to continue as she drags him off to where Tommy and some other guys are setting up a makeshift shooting range.

* * *

Joel is seriously beginning to wonder at the town's safety if these people are the ones with guns. Someone actually does end up shooting themselves in the foot, and he has to make a point to look anywhere but at Ellie, or they'll both crack up.

(Granted, it was one of the younger guys, and Joel's willing to bet his levels of experience are less than stellar, but _still_).

Unsurprisingly, it ends up down to the two of them. Joel backs up to the final line marked in the ground. The target is far, but not nearly as much as shots he's made in the past. Not that it really matters. It's all in good fun. Ellie, on the other hand, appears to be taking it very seriously.

"Alright, you two. Best two outta three. Make 'em count," Tommy calls out. Joel hazards a look around, noting that they've gathered quite a crowd. He can't be entirely sure, but Joel thinks he sees a few bets being made. He chuckles a bit at that. Ellie turns her head, giving him a strange look. He makes a dismissive gesture. He'll tell her later. She'll probably find it hilarious.

He manages to win the first round, hitting the second ring from the center as Ellie hits on the third. The second round, his shot goes wide, burying itself nearly on the last ring while Ellie manages the second. He cusses under his breath, flexing his hand. Ellie's got that smug look back on her face and he knows he's never hearing the end of this if he misses again.

He lines up for the final shot, and he's almost completely sure he's got it this time. At the last second, he looks over at her. She's grinning like crazy, whether in encouragement or just because she's ridiculously happy, he has no idea. Her hair is still a mess from earlier, eyes still shining and she's still buzzing with energy, and his mind blanks for a second. He doesn't get to see her like this a lot. Happy. Carefree. He'd like to see it more, if he could. He shakes himself out of it, pulling the trigger. The bullet buries itself just outside the center. The crowd cheers.

Ellie cheers loudest, smile nearly blinding, and when it's her turn Joel isn't even the slightest bit surprised that her bullet hits dead-center.

* * *

"It was a good try," she tells him after, when they're sitting by the lake while the rest of the town continues their little party. She pats his arm. "You gave it your best shot." He groans at the terrible pun while she convulses with laughter.

"That was terrible," he informs her.

"It was amazing. Shut up." He ruffles her hair again in revenge, earning him a punch to the shoulder. "Dammit, Joel!"

"You were amazing," he tells her honestly. "I'm pretty sure you'll be banned from any other contests 'cause you're just too good." She ducks her head at the praise, shrugging.

"Well, I did have one major advantage," she admits. He gives her a questioning look.

"And what, exactly, would that be?" She wiggles her eyebrows at him.

"Sparkly eyes, my friend. Works every time."


End file.
